Reflections of play "Vo ladkiyon vala natak "

Two back-to-back shows after its premier show,
of which the first one has already announced houseful three days before the
show. I happen to take chance for a walk-in to buy a ticket at the venue and
was told that the house is full again on the second consecutive day.  I waited and was given the last moment entry as
I squeezed in the packed house of a motley crowd waiting for the performance of
a play with a curious title as “वह लड़कियों वाला नाटक”! I remained glued to my
last row seat for the next seventy minutes; I remained thoughtful for many
hours thereafter.  

Poster of the performance

The Ahmedabad theater scene has lately become a
broad monotony of adaptations of stories of Manto, Pritam, Chugtai, or Kaul and
likes.  With some exceptions, a majority
of narratives are also focused on drawing room drama talking about human
relationships, or contemporary socio-political scenes at the societal level.   This play
comes as a breeze of fresh air in terms of idea, conceptualization, and
execution (screenplay, direction, costume, music, lights, etc.) by an all-women
crew and cast.  For example, costumes that
the actors changed frequently during the play ranged from colorful gunghat-ised
sarees to black designer-type sheath dresses as party wear.  In terms of music, there is unique ‘first-time-on-stage’
use of the theatrical property of metal mortars and pestles as instruments for
a live song. There is a novel use of profile spotlight emerging from the
audience during a sequence that beautifully captured the intrigued and inter-woven
narrative of the multitasking abilities of women.  Although it is by the women and presents narratives
of the women, this play is certainly for ‘everyone’ who cares to understand,
reflect and retrospect.

The stage was set well with vibrant singing and
dance by the young girls, which was quickly followed by clear, humorous, and energetic
disclaimer cum instructions by the senior most, who continued to connect with
the audience as a narrator throughout the play. 
The first peace connected the ‘Dolls House’ by Henrik Ibsen in a strong
mix of classical display of emotions in chaste English, and student-like casual
bi-lingual delivery, only to conclude with an unpracticable end to take the
expectations high. Then came my favorite sequence of evolution of the mankind.  A snapshot, of sorts, of ‘the second sex’ by
Simon De Beauvoir, this enactment with discover channel-like voice-over left me
mesmerized. I had goosebumps watching Ananya quietly performing as a woman continuing
her chores through evolution from chimpanzees to characters in cheesy TV
serials. This sequence has the potential for case material for teaching
screenplay writing.  The next part talked
about women’s sexuality unabashedly, without any mansplaining or male gaze. There
is a freshness in the use of the property and a politically safe approach to
generating discourse through the breaking of the fourth wall in this.  The climax of this sequence was indeed an ‘Oh
My God(dess)’ moment, literally and metaphorically.  Ten on ten for the conceptualization and
writing, but eleven on ten for the very difficult TV serial-ish overacting and
the very thought of camera movement on stage. 
The parts around domestic violence in poor households, raising voice against
it, and normalizing it by the system ends well with a hard-hitting note on cultural
silence on these issues among non-poor households. This narrative of poor women
culminated in the form of a live song by self-employed women in an occupational
self-help group. The contrast of the ghunghat-clad women spiritedly singing the
progressive lyrics reminded me of O Womaniya of the Gangs of Wassaypur.  The piece on enlightenment possibilities of
women, mixed with a satirical take on ‘Yeh Jawaani Hai Diwani’ was a very
convincing tale of how men found it easy – even on the path of
self-realization.  The range of issues of
women and work were depicted beautifully through a metaphoric assignment of
Durga to kill Mahisasur.  I particularly
liked the nuanced and gendered beginning and end of the performance.

Women need to tell their stories, beyond their
side of the story. This play is an example of a very uncommon approach to storytelling
wherein men are inconsequential.  Kudos,
congratulations, and gratitude for such courageous efforts of not allowing the concept
and execution to get affected by the urge of making it audience-friendly, which
for all practical purposes means androcentric.  Such novel experiments are needed to keep hope
in the theater alive. Thanks for your efforts and
courage. Keep it up.  

And, a reminder for all of us – a play about
women can be entertaining, interesting, and convincing without having to talk
about patriarchy, empowerment, feminism, and of course, men.